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littleseven's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Fatphobia
thestarlitpage's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you so much to William Morrow Books for the gifted review copy!
I usually start reviews with a brief summary of a book’s premise, but the narrator of Plain Bad Heroines sums it up so succinctly with this quote:
“Everything else to come in these pages comprises the story of three heroines from the present and more heroines from the past and how they all collided around Brookhants, and a book, and also a book about Brookhants.”
Harper Harper, Merritt Emmons, and Audrey Wells are brought together by the Hollywood production of Merritt’s book, The Happenings at Brookhants, which tells the story of Clara and Flo—a couple in love who met a tragic end at their girls’ boarding school in 1902. The story jumps back and forth in time between the aftermath of Clara and Flo’s deaths and the present.
Plain Bad Heroines is a haunting and macabre gothic horror story with a richly layered meta-narrative that I couldn’t get enough of. Atmospheric and unsettling, the Brookhants curse seeps through every page. This is one of those reads where a setting has a strong enough presence that it begins to feel like a character in and of itself. It’s also one of those rare reads where I felt invested in each and every characters’ storyline. Every heroine featured was richly developed with a distinct voice. I could have read a full book dedicated to any one of them and yet the interlacing of their stories is what made this book so addicting.
Plain Bad Heroines is my favorite type of read. It's a compelling narrative that stacks stories like nesting dolls, has a lovely way with words, and—if you want to get into the gestalt of the reading experience—the design of the book itself from it's illustrations, end pages and dust jacket design to the color of the cover is complete and utter perfection. It's a book that reminds you that there’s always more to the story. It's creepy enough to churn the stomach and get under the skin (and if you're anything like me, its influence might make its not way into a borderline nightmare with a swarm of yellow jackets) but it's not a scary read.
This is one that I'll definitely be revisiting and adding to my favorites shelf.
I'd recommend this to readers looking for something a little bit dark, readers who like beautifully told stories, and readers who like Gothic horror and stories with curses and haunted places.
I usually start reviews with a brief summary of a book’s premise, but the narrator of Plain Bad Heroines sums it up so succinctly with this quote:
“Everything else to come in these pages comprises the story of three heroines from the present and more heroines from the past and how they all collided around Brookhants, and a book, and also a book about Brookhants.”
Harper Harper, Merritt Emmons, and Audrey Wells are brought together by the Hollywood production of Merritt’s book, The Happenings at Brookhants, which tells the story of Clara and Flo—a couple in love who met a tragic end at their girls’ boarding school in 1902. The story jumps back and forth in time between the aftermath of Clara and Flo’s deaths and the present.
Plain Bad Heroines is a haunting and macabre gothic horror story with a richly layered meta-narrative that I couldn’t get enough of. Atmospheric and unsettling, the Brookhants curse seeps through every page. This is one of those reads where a setting has a strong enough presence that it begins to feel like a character in and of itself. It’s also one of those rare reads where I felt invested in each and every characters’ storyline. Every heroine featured was richly developed with a distinct voice. I could have read a full book dedicated to any one of them and yet the interlacing of their stories is what made this book so addicting.
Plain Bad Heroines is my favorite type of read. It's a compelling narrative that stacks stories like nesting dolls, has a lovely way with words, and—if you want to get into the gestalt of the reading experience—the design of the book itself from it's illustrations, end pages and dust jacket design to the color of the cover is complete and utter perfection. It's a book that reminds you that there’s always more to the story. It's creepy enough to churn the stomach and get under the skin (and if you're anything like me, its influence might make its not way into a borderline nightmare with a swarm of yellow jackets) but it's not a scary read.
This is one that I'll definitely be revisiting and adding to my favorites shelf.
I'd recommend this to readers looking for something a little bit dark, readers who like beautifully told stories, and readers who like Gothic horror and stories with curses and haunted places.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Infidelity and Panic attacks/disorders
stillreadingat4am's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
katherinevarga's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
There were many things about this book I absolutely loved, including
-Hollywood & rich people on social media satire
-dark academia / queer girls at boarding school at turn of the century
-wordplay, footnotes, and illustrations
-a "Truly Devious" trilogy (jumping between past and present; quirky characters) meets "Dawson's Creek Halloween specials" (meta-awareness, clear love of horror movies) vibe
-examination of how social media / constant surveillance impacts our ability to distinguish reality from artifice; what it means "to be rather than to seem"
This was such a blast to read, although ultimately I'm not sure what to take away from it plot-wise. It's a great book to read for atmosphere and voice; less so if you want a clear narrative with a satisfying conclusion. Many lesbian characters die which gave me pause at first ("why am i reading about girls being attacked by yellowjackets during a pandemic and fascist insurrection?") but once I accepted that as part of the horror aesthetic I was able to enjoy this as spooky weird escapism.
-Hollywood & rich people on social media satire
-dark academia / queer girls at boarding school at turn of the century
-wordplay, footnotes, and illustrations
-a "Truly Devious" trilogy (jumping between past and present; quirky characters) meets "Dawson's Creek Halloween specials" (meta-awareness, clear love of horror movies) vibe
-examination of how social media / constant surveillance impacts our ability to distinguish reality from artifice; what it means "to be rather than to seem"
This was such a blast to read, although ultimately I'm not sure what to take away from it plot-wise. It's a great book to read for atmosphere and voice; less so if you want a clear narrative with a satisfying conclusion. Many lesbian characters die which gave me pause at first ("why am i reading about girls being attacked by yellowjackets during a pandemic and fascist insurrection?") but once I accepted that as part of the horror aesthetic I was able to enjoy this as spooky weird escapism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault
ghostbird's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
keatynbergsten's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was an excellent book to start off my year with. I really enjoyed almost every aspect of this book. I particularly loved how it crossed genres between historical fiction, horror, and comedy and how seamlessly that was done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Violence
reading_between_the_trees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A beautifully frightening and mysterious sapphic masterpiece. The historical story within the present day story gave the actor and author characters such a rich additional dimension, and upped the slow burn spookiness a level. I listened to this on audio and thoroughly enjoyed it even as a person who does not usually read horror/thrillers. The narrator was great and the characters were extremely well developed; they are the kind of people that still frequently think "______ would do/like that" as I go about my day months after reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Fatphobia
emsim's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Dementia
manicfemme's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Plain Bad Heroines was a haunting, humorous, and extremely sapphic blend of historical & contemporary storylines that I absolutely adored. I was intimidated by the length at first, but this book was compulsively readable, and hard to put down! I'm not usually a gothic horror reader, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about Plain Bad Heroines, but the promise of explicitly stated, on page lesbian rep lured me in, and I'm so glad it did!
I know this is a book review, but I gotta say: Can y'all imagine how amazing Plain Bad Heroines would be as a movie? Come on, Hollywood, make it happen!
ARC Note: This one is a little complicated, because I received an e-ARC from Netgalley, then won a physical ARC in a Goodreads giveaway, and then received an ALC from Libro.FM. So thank you to Netgalley, Goodreads, Libro.fm and William Morrow! All opinions are my own.
I know this is a book review, but I gotta say: Can y'all imagine how amazing Plain Bad Heroines would be as a movie? Come on, Hollywood, make it happen!
ARC Note: This one is a little complicated, because I received an e-ARC from Netgalley, then won a physical ARC in a Goodreads giveaway, and then received an ALC from Libro.FM. So thank you to Netgalley, Goodreads, Libro.fm and William Morrow! All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
Minor: Fatphobia
ohwowbee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was an absolute ball! From the very first pages I was invested and enthralled by the tone of voice, the cast of characters, and the unfolding of the plot.
It is set in part in 1902, and the years immediately following the tragic death of two girls at Brookhants School for Girls. From there; we hop, skip and jump timelines seamlessly to the present day, where our Three Heroines, Harper, Merritt, and Audrey are involved in the production of a film based on those past events. Horrifying shenanigans ensue.
Danforth creates a cast of characters who are all selfish, flawed, and wonderful. And there is nary a heterosexual in sight!!
It’s been a long time since I’ve devoured a 600+ page book, but here we are.
It is set in part in 1902, and the years immediately following the tragic death of two girls at Brookhants School for Girls. From there; we hop, skip and jump timelines seamlessly to the present day, where our Three Heroines, Harper, Merritt, and Audrey are involved in the production of a film based on those past events. Horrifying shenanigans ensue.
Danforth creates a cast of characters who are all selfish, flawed, and wonderful. And there is nary a heterosexual in sight!!
It’s been a long time since I’ve devoured a 600+ page book, but here we are.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, and Rape